The Radical Racial Politics of the Baton Rouge Shooter

Gavin Eugene Long, the African-American former U.S. Marine accused of killing three police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, left several videos posted online in which he declared he wanted to “fight back” against police for the shootings of blacks. “You gotta fight back – that’s the only way a bully knows to quit,” Long said in one of his videos, using the pseudonym of “Cosmos.” Under this user name, Long made videos to talk about police killing of black men, including the recent death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, who was shot by two white officers in Baton Rouge. Long tried…